Jaguar Land Rover entering partnership with chip maker for electric car production

The British Jaguar Land Rover has entered into a new strategic partnership with the semiconductor maker Wolfspeed (WOLF) to use its chips to power its next generation of electric vehicles (EV).

As the Electrek tech magazine reports, this is not the first business partnership between Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and Wolfspeed, as the chip maker had been supplying its silicon carbide semiconductors to the Jaguar TCS Racing Formula E for use in its powertrain since 2017.

The semiconductor maker wants to power a new era of zero-emission transportation with its silicon carbide inverters (SiC). SiC-based inverters are smaller, lighter, and more efficient (5-10% increase in EV range), according to the chip maker.
Supply chain bottlenecks limit output due to almost every major automaker and startup spending billions to meet the growing wave of buyers demanding EVs.

The shortage of semiconductors has crippled the industry. The pandemic greatly accelerated the need for computer chips as the world adjusted to a new, digital world.

The more digital, connected devices that come online, the more computer chips are needed. On top of this, production was limited as many companies anticipated a slowdown, not an acceleration in demand.

Jaguar Land Rover gave the following statement on this development, saying "We are not strangers having collaborated together with the Jaguar TCS Racing team for the last five seasons. By developing that into a strategic partnership as part of our Reimagine strategy, we can integrate Wolfspeed’s advanced Silicon Carbide technology into our next-generation electric vehicles, delivering extended range and performance capabilities for our clients".

Jaguar is aiming to transition to a fully electric brand by 2025, while Range Rover will follow in its footsteps by releasing six EVs by 2030, with the first 100% electric Land Rover out for sale in 2024.